Ryan Suter

I just wanted to know how Ryan Suter is as a hockey player, what are its strengths and weaknesses? I do not know much about him and many people want him in Montreal because he'll become an UFA on July 1st.

His weakness is he can be a bit of a deva, doesn't work well playing with younger players and sometimes seems to just go through the motions. Prior to this season most thought Suter was the better defensive defenseman, I don't know that's the case anymore...

suter strengths include;
..great fast, smooth skater
..great coverage guy, as good a man on man guy as you'll find in the league against quick, speed forwards.
..excellent puck handler. get the puck to him and he's able to skate the puck up ice as well as any d-man in the league if you try to pressure him or pass outlets are covered.
..great pp quarterback. calm with the puck, sees the ice and reads the play very well. rarely turns it over. really good crisp, accurate passer from the point.
..great breakout passer. his presence alone makes your forwards much more dangerous. if they break open, he'll get them the puck
..underrated, but highly accurate wrist shot.
..hockey smarts. he has them. he might get beat every once in awhile but doesn't ever make stupid mistakes. knows when to pinch, when not to. virtually never gets caught pinching at the wrong time.
..great hockey pedigree, obviously. he was born to be a great player. you cann't teach that.
..calm, likeable personality. a favorite of other players in the locker room. a good off ice presence and teammate.

the weaknesses you might hear..
..no slap shot power to speak of. in practice trotz once joked to me and handtrick "he could stop his slap shot in his underwear and a pair of tweezers". that was his rookie year though and it has gotten better, he just rarely uses it.
..strength. some critics will say he's not strong enough to cover some of the really big power forwards. he's far stronger on his skates than given credit for however. you very rarely will see anyone overpower him down low.
.. other might say he doesn't hit enough. and it is rare for him to lay that big hit anywhere on ice. but he's not a weakling. his superior positioning, stickwork and skating ability are what he relies on instead.

other than that, i got nothing. he's top 3 or 4 among puckhandling defensemen in this league

His weakness is he can be a bit of a deva, doesn't work well playing with younger players and sometimes seems to just go through the motions. Prior to this season most thought Suter was the better defensive defenseman, I don't know that's the case anymore...

To clarify, the comments about Suter being a deva [sic], et al, stem from remarks he made to the press during the All Star weekend. Basically he was asked if he would sign before the trade deadline, and Suter responded by saying no, he would not be working on a contract extension during the season to avoid distractions. That turned into "SUTER NOT SIGNING WITH NASHVILLE BEFORE DEADLINE. TRADEZ PLEAZ?!"

Suter really is not good with the media. He hasn't had a lot of practice to his credit. Nashville's hockey media is... well... pretty tame. Most of the coverage of the Predators comes from local bloggers, which is awesome since we have such a closely knit community and hockey fan base. Still, when he is swarmed by reporters he isn't the best guy to have near a microphone. He will be honest without being a jerk. That can get someone in trouble when a seasoned reporter wants a story. They know how to ask questions to get specific answers, and then they have a headline. He's an honest guy, which is a no-no sometimes, and he is so nice that he can be pushed around via questioning without even knowing it.

I agree with 303. Suter's game is remarkable with and without the puck. His ability to play with the biggest players in the league has been called into question. He isn't a tiny guy by any means, but he isn't the kind of guy to throw his body around in order to play bigger than he really is. With that said, he absolutely will use his body to separate the player from the puck which is what you want.

Strictly defensively speaking, Suter is a top 5 player (to put it into terms HF Boarders love). He isn't a goal scorer, but he will put up a ton of assists (39 this season I believe). If he can pair him with a two-way defender who leans more to the offensive side you're in good shape.

To clarify, the comments about Suter being a deva [sic], et al, stem from remarks he made to the press during the All Star weekend. Basically he was asked if he would sign before the trade deadline, and Suter responded by saying no, he would not be working on a contract extension during the season to avoid distractions. That turned into "SUTER NOT SIGNING WITH NASHVILLE BEFORE DEADLINE. TRADEZ PLEAZ?!"

You forgot to mention the seemingly uninterested play at times since the all-star break. I think if he had been going out and busting his butt on every shift, the talk would have died off a while ago, but he continued to show less then full effort in several games although I think he's ramped it up more in the last few weeks.

You forgot to mention the seemingly uninterested play at times since the all-star break. I think if he had been going out and busting his butt on every shift, the talk would have died off a while ago, but he continued to show less then full effort in several games although I think he's ramped it up more in the last few weeks.

I didn't mention it because there is absolutely no way to tie comments made to play on the ice, IMO. We can assume they go together, but what is the evidence? ANYTHING could cause lackluster play. I'd rather not take what could easily be a coincidence and use it to make a guy look bad when he has, by all accounts, been nothing but a great player on and off the ice until his ASB gaffe.

suter's biggest weakness is against bigger forwards and really skilled guys (datsyuk).. every defenseman has trouble with those guys though.. if you go to the net hard all game on suter, you will probably score. he's great all around defensively but he will get beat pretty good a time or two a game. weber usually cancels that out for him

I think we confuse how he looks skating and what we consider "I don't give a **** skating." This team does not have the season it did, have the powerplay it did, or have a top 10 ofense without him playing well. His contract is up and the sky is falling time. After the playoffs, everyone will pick his game apart and forget how good he is trying to come to grips that we may lose him.